Kaaram borugulu / Spiced rice puffs

This is a nice low calories snack. Puffed rice mixed with roasted garlic, peanuts, roasted chick pea with a hint of turmeric. The turmeric itself gives the nice aroma.  This can be served as it is or can be mixed with some chopped onion, tomato and some fresh coriander.

Can also be eaten as a meal ....(Cheeky)

Ingredients:

Rice puffs / Marmaralu – 200 gms

Peanuts – ¼ cup

Dalia / Roasted chick pea – ¼ cup

Garlic – 6-8 cloves crushed

Curry leaves – 4-5 strings

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Salt

Red Chilli – 4-5

Oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat a broad kadai with oil.

When it is warm add peanuts, red chilli and roast them on medium flame.

When they are half done add garlic.

Roast everything until the garlic gets browned and peanuts get crunchy.

Now add roasted chick pea, mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves.

Fry them for few seconds and add the puffed rice

Toss every thing thoroughly, so that the puffed rice get coated with oil. At this point add salt and turmeric.

Keep mixing every thing until the puffed rice get mixed well and coated with turmeric.

Remove from flame. Allow them to cool down completely and then store in an air tight container. They remain fresh up to 10 days.

You can also mix some sev if you like.

Cereal bar

During the half term break, my son was curious to help me in cooking. In fact, he wants to try his own version which he learnt at school as part of his cooking lessons. So, we both decided to do this no-bake, no hassle cereal bar.

Ingredients:
Chocolate bar - 100gms
Rice puffs - 2 cups
Almond flakes - 2 tbsp



Method:
Break the chocolate bar into small pieces and place them in a microwave safe bowl.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes by stirring in between. Do not over cook.

Quickly add the rice puffs to the melted chocolate

Mould it into desired shapes.

Or simply make them into bars like this and then shower them with almond flakes or any nuts and seeds of your choice.

Cereal bar with almond flakes

Vuggani / Puffed Rice upma / Borugula upma

                                                 Vuggani with Mirapakaya bajji

Though this is a famous Karnataka recipe, people at rayalaseema, do prepare this a lot. I heard from my hubby that when he was doing his engineering in Karnataka, the restaurants used to serve this recipe as breakfast, lunch and even dinner as well.

Few people do call this as Buggani. We, at our mom’s family simply call it as borugulupma and at athamma’s family Borugula Thiragavatha

Let’s peep into the method of preparing the delicate recipe.

Mind you there are 2 varieties of puffed rice (as far as I know). One prepared from raw rice. Another variety is made from boiled rice. We call them as Vuppu Borugulu.

We need to soak the puffed rice made from raw rice for less time and where as boiled rice for bit more time.

Ingredients

Puffed rice (Murmur) - 1 big bowl (about 200 grams)
Bombay Onion Medium size - 2
Green chillies - 8
Turmeric - ½ tsp
Mustard - ½ tsp
Curry leaves – Hand full
Fresh Lemon juice - 2 tbsp (adjust as per your taste)
Oil - 3 tbsp

Finely chopped coriander – 2 tbsp
Salt as per your taste

For coconut powder
Dry coconut (Cut into thin strips) - Hand full or 3 tbsp
Roasted Chana dal - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Soak the puffed rice in big bowl of water for about 5-10 min (until they are soft) depending on the variety as I explained above.

2. Take the soaked puffed rice into both the palms and squeeze the water completely and keep it aside.

                                                    Soaked and squeezed puffed rice

3. Cut the chillies length wise. If they are too long you can even cut them into half. Cut the onions also length wise and make sure onion slices should be thin.

4. Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot enough add green chilli first and fry until you get a nice chilli flavour (for about 1-2 mins)

5. Add Onion, salt, Mustard and curry leaves and fry until the onion turns translucent. At the end add turmeric and fry for 1 min or so.

6. I always prefer to add salt along with onions. 2 reasons. a) The onion will get good taste. B) Onion will get fried quickly.

7. Now add the puffed rice to the tampering

8. Add lemon juice and mix gently.

9. Ground the dry coconut and roasted channa dal with pinch of salt.

10. Sprinkle the coconut + chanadal powder and the chopped coriander and mix all together gently and remove from the fire.

The best combination with this vuggani is mirapakai bajji